Rights & Safety for Sex Workers
We are a small grassroots collective of poetic volunteers impacted by the criminalization of sex work.
We advocate for the rights and safety of all people with experience in sexual labor.
Collective Nests
Policy Advocacy (Decrim)
We advocate for decriminalization and legal protections at the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and The State of Minnesota. In 2025, we launched our Sanctuary State campaign, “No More Dead Canaries” that describes how Minnesota could be one of the safest state for people engaged in sexual labor.
Public Education (Anti-Stigma)
We work with health, social, and legal professionals to offer education, advocacy, and support in delivering affirmative care to people with lived experience in the sex trades. Reach out to collaborate! We are developing a living toolkit as a resource for people who want to support the global and local movement of sex worker and survivor rights.
Community (Outreach & Support)
We host worker-only events and offer peer support in a community group chat. We offer space and resources for our community to learn about decriminalization, their rights, and how to navigate work safely. Our Giving Circle was established in early 2026.
Dignity No Matter What
Many people who voluntarily engage in the sex trades consider themselves “sex workers” and/or practicing “sex work”.
Many people who involuntarily engage in the sex trades consider themselves “survivors of exploitation”. Some of these people may have experienced coercion or felt forced by someone else to engage in sex work.
Many people engage in sex work as their only means to survive, migrate, earn wages, obtain housing, manage an addiction, or get other life necessities to support themselves and their families. They may choose sex work, but it wouldn’t be their first choice of work.
Protecting Choice & Autonomy
The ways sex workers ensure their safety are disturbed when they are denied the dignity of choice under criminalization. Workers need autonomy with…
- The kind of work performed, where it happens, when it happens, and with who
- Boundaries and navigating embodied consent
- Rates and agency over financial choices
- Screening and discretion of clients and collaborators
Legal Frameworks 101
Sex workers are often used as scapegoats to ignore the real problems of sexual violence, lack of sexual health education, and migrant labor exploitation.
SWIM: Sex Workers in Minneapolis 